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The Asian Development Bank (“ADB”) said that Pakistan’s project performance related to sustainable development goals (SDG) dropped to 58% in 2018–2020 from 70% in 2017–2019 due to poor performance in the public sector management and water sectors. Some of the major factors for this deterioration in implementation were i) inadequate project ownership and commitment ii)…

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Car sales in Pakistan for the month of March, hit a three-year high, with 23,000 units sold. Affordable auto financing rates and growing consumer confidence were the main reasons for the growth.   Quarterly Review Video.

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Remittance coming into Pakistanis for the 9 months July to March FY21 increased 26% to touch $21.5 billion (last: $17.1 billion).   Some of the major reasons for this growth have been the GOP policy measures and SBP to encourage more inflows through formal channels, Pakistan seen as a safe haven for overseas Pakistanis’ funds,…

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The US Federal Reserve has said that cyber attacks are a major threat to the US economy.   US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, while talking to CBS 60 Minutes, that he was more worried about the risk of a large-scale cyberattack than another financial crisis like that of 2008. The risks of a 2008-like…

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Iran admitted that an incident at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility was caused by an act of “nuclear terrorism” with the help of a cyber attack. This was disclosed by Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi who added that Iran reserves the right to respond appropriately.   Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation (AEOI) had said that a…

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The Pakistan government set the cotton production target for FY22 at 10.5 million bales from an area of 2.33 million hectares. This target is close to double over the previous year.   Other targets were also fixed such as   Rice: 8.2 million tons from 3.07 million hectares of land Wheat: 26.04 million tons from…

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that Pakistan’s gross external financing requirements for FY22 will be $23.6 billion compared to $27 billion for FY21. The IMF further said that the funding available will be $24.9 billion for FY22.   Quarterly Review Video.

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Pakistan’s Eurobond raised $2.5 billion after a gap of almost 3 years. The transaction generated purchases from investors in Asia, Middle East, Europe and the US.   It was oversubscribed almost two times, with approx. 6% for five-year, 7.375% for 10-year and 8.875% for 30-year bonds.   In last issue of November 2017, Pakistan raised…

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Pakistani Banks and development finance institutions (DFIs) have deferred and restructured loans worth Rs. 910.7 billion in a year to facilitate borrowers facing difficulties due to COVID. The deferred and restructured loans include Rs. 717 billion in corporate and commercial loans, Rs. 121 billion worth of microfinance, and Rs. 27 billion of small and medium…

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected Pakistan’s GDP growth rate at 1.5% for FY21, against the -0.4% in FY20.   The IMF launched its “World Economic Outlook (WEO), Managing Divergent Recoveries”  in which it discussed the various events across the globe.   The IMF said for Pakistan that there will be a slight rise in…

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The IMF projected the world growth, region wise and country wise, showing various growth patterns.   The world economy contracted –3.3% in FY20, which is now projected to grow at 6% FY21 and then 4.4% in FY22.   This contraction calculated for FY20 is 1.1% less than estimated in the October 2020 World Economic Outlook…

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The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and all provincial revenue authorities have agreed to sign and implement a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a “single portal and single return,” for ease of doing business and harmonization of sales tax.   This MoU is scheduled to be signed on 7th April 2021 and includes the Sindh…

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